Campaigning in the constituencies of Naroda and Dariapur in Ahmedabad on Tuesday ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, “Pakistan knows that if two bombs are blasted in India then 20 bombs will be blasted in Pakistan”.
Citing the example of the Shraddha Walkar murder case in Delhi to push for “one law against ‘love jihaad’ across the country” and polygamous marriages in “certain communities”, Sarma said, “Aaj Bharat mein ek varg hai, woh varg ke vyakti ka swadhinata hai, ki ek ko shaadi karo, thode din baad dusre ko shaadi karo, thode din baad teesre ko shaadi karo. Agar aap talaq dete rahe toh chautha, panchva, chhattha, saatva, jitna shaadi kar sakte ho. Arre yeh desh ka kanoon ho sakta hai kya? Mahilaon ka itna apman ho sakta hai kya? Isliye aaj humare desh ko kya zaroorat hai? Uniform civil code ko yeh desh ko zaroorat hai… yeh kaam khaali BJP kar sakta hai, Mahila shashaktikaran ka kaam khaali pradhan mantri Modiji kar sakta hai aur isiliye hum logon ko Modiji ko taakat dena hai (There is a class in India whose people have the freedom.. takes one wife, then two wives, three wives, and if you keep divorcing then fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, as many you can marry. Can this be the law of the country? Can women be thus humiliated? That’s why we need UCC (Uniform Civil Code)… this work can only be done by the BJP and that’s why we have to give strength to PM Modi,” said Sarma.
Sarma said that the Gujarat election this time is not much about BJP winning, but rather to ensure that Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns as prime minister in the 2024 elections. (Express Photo)
Sarma kicked off his campaign from Modasa constituency in Aravalli district before visiting the two constituencies in Ahmedabad. Campaigning for BJP’s Naroda candidate Payal Kukrani, also on stage was former Naroda BJP MLA and 2002 Gujarat riots accused Maya Kodnani, along with Ahmedabad city mayor Kirit Parmar. The Naroda constituency has the areas of Naroda Patiya and Naroda Gam that saw the worst massacres.
Riot accused and former MLA Maya Kodnani (woman on left with short hair) was seen sharing stage with Assam CM Himanta Biswas, Payal Kukrani (woman on right with BJP cap), Balram Thawani incumbent Naroda MLA (man in white beside Payal Kulkarni) and Ahmedabad mayor Kirit Parmar (man in white, second from left) at Naroda. (Express Photo by Sohini Ghosh)
“It has been 7-8 years since Modi took over… Today if you go to Tawang, there’s a highway and railways work is underway and an aeroplane hangar has been made. Today, if China comes from Lhasa to Tawang in two hours, then the Indian Army can reach from Tezpur in one hour. Earlier it took 14 days. Today our country’s borders are protected. It is secure in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh,” he said.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma campaigning for BJP candidate from Dariyapur assembly constituency of Ahmedabad on Tuesday. (Express Photo)
Referring to the 26/11 attack in Mumbai and the Parliament attack in 2001, Sarma said, “Today our Prime Minister is Modiji, where are all that (acts of terror)? Where have all the gun-toting men, who would come to India from Pakistan, vanished now? Because today Pakistan knows that if two bombs are blasted in India then 20 bombs will be blasted in Pakistan.”
At all three events, Sarma said that the Gujarat election this time is not much about BJP winning, of which the party is sure of, but rather to ensure that Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns as prime minister in the 2024 elections.
In 2017, Modasa was won by the Congress by a slim margin of around 1,600 votes, while Dariapur was won by Congress by a margin of over 6,000 votes. Naroda, a BJP bastion, was won by the party with a margin of over 60,000 votes.
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Taking on the Aam Aadmi Party, Sarma said, “Arvind Kejriwal says he will make mohalla clinics. When multispecialty hospitals, AIIMS are being made in Gujarat, of what use are mohalla clinics? This Kejriwal won the Punjab elections and look at the state of Punjab. Every day someone is being murdered in the open. Punjab is returning to its old state (of militancy)… guns and bombs have made a comeback.
Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court
Professional Profile
Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.
Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).
Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.
She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.
With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram
Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:
High-Profile Case Coverage
She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.
Signature Style
Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.
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Sarma said that the Gujarat election this time is not much about BJP winning, but rather to ensure that Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns as prime minister in the 2024 elections. (Express Photo)
Riot accused and former MLA Maya Kodnani (woman on left with short hair) was seen sharing stage with Assam CM Himanta Biswas, Payal Kukrani (woman on right with BJP cap), Balram Thawani incumbent Naroda MLA (man in white beside Payal Kulkarni) and Ahmedabad mayor Kirit Parmar (man in white, second from left) at Naroda. (Express Photo by Sohini Ghosh)
Assam Chief Minister 